goals
In this kitchen, the clients wanted the space to support their current lifestyle of having an empty nest, hosting fewer formal events at home, and eating almost exclusively all fresh foods.
process
My time was 12 hours total, with one or both clients working with me.
work days
During our work days, the clients and I:
-Emptied cupboards, drawers, plus floor-to-ceiling pantry shelves
-Checked expiration dates on all foods
-Composted, recycled, and tossed the expired foods and packaging
-Deep cleaned everything
-Laid out remaining food items by category so client could see duplicates
-Stored food by category in easy-to-access, labeled, plastic bins
-Laid out kitchenware by category so client could see duplicates, choose favorites, and then donate or sell the rest
-Photographed larger items and posted on Craigslist to sell
-Reorganized some drawers and cupboards so as to better use the space, such as moving all food to the pantry, and all brown-bag lunch items to a single drawer
-Arranged serving dishes, trays, and picnic items in one pantry so that they look beautiful and are easy to access
-Added Museum Wax under utensil trays in drawers to prevent them from sliding
-Took a carload of kitchenware donations to refugee families at ReWA
-Recommended small upgrades, such as:
$15 white plastic trash bins to replace grubby old ones
$6 thermometers in refrigerator and freezer so as to accurately gauge temperature
$13 rug tape to keep area rugs from sliding
$30 lightweight, heavy-duty food processor to replace heavy, large, complicated one
$8 lightweight, oil-free microwave popper to replace a sticky, heavy popcorn pan
$15 insulated lunch bag, containers, and slim ice blocks, to replace old lunch bags